Weekend Herb Blogging # 58 - The Roundup

It's my turn to host this weekends Weekend Herb Blogging. This event goes into its 58th week and that is a mighty lot of herb blogging and cooking we've been doing. When I was first introduced to this lovely event, created by the lovelier Kalyn, it made me really look at my cooking in a different light. I am sure you will understand what I mean: we all spend many hours planning, shopping, preparing and eating our meals. Most of us probably decide on something, go out buy the ingredients and come back home and cook it. Do we however take notice of what goes into it? I don't mean from a nutrition point of view, because after visiting so many blogs I know many of you pay big attention to that. What I mean is the ingredients that just go into several dishes that are simply often taken for granted.

To highlight what I mean, I'll give you an example from my experience. Parsley is something I often use in my kitchen. Before I came across Weekend Herb Blogging it was just something I added to spruce up a dish or garnish a stew. No big attention or care given to the poor old parsley. Yes, I knew the health benefits and that it is good for several things, but my point is, I took it for granted. However, after becoming a part of the WHB team I look at this and all my other herbs differently. I do not just go out to the Farmer's Market and pick out my herbs now. I make it an event. Rubbing the leaves between my finger tips, taking in the aromas and picking with great care. This is what WHB did to me! What did the experience with this event do to you?

Salt Lake City, Utah, USAWe start off with the creator herself. Kalyn is suffering from a cold this week and needed something warming and soothing to cure her cold. She threw in a few ingredients into her crockpot and used her Greek Oregano to create a heartwarming Chicken Soup with Oregano and Garbanzos. Hope you're feeling better Kalyn.

New Jersey, USASandeepa gives a wonderful insight on the tastes of Bengali cuisine and prepares a healthy Shukto.

Nantes, FranceIf you are looking for something vegan and gluten free for the upcoming festivities take a look at Virgine's brilliant Pumpkin and White Chocolate Pie. Combining the flavors of vanilla, cinnamon and ginger I am sure this will be a runner.

Iowa City, Iowa, USAGenie uses her own eggplant harvest to make one of my favorite dishes. She uses all four of the eggplants ;-) together with basel and Italian parsley to make Pasta arrabbiata with eggplant.

Pistoia, Tuscany, ItalyA little closer to me and one of my favorite gals is Ilva, whose pictures and lovely Italian cuisine have me drooling for hours. I was really looking forward to seeing what Ilva would come up with. She really has a way with taking the most simplest of ingredients and turning them into amazing dishes. Ilva uses rosemary, sage, thyme, and oregano to make some lip-smacking Roasted Potatoes.

Melbourne, AustraliaWe take a quick trip down under but we stick to the Italian cuisine. Haalo spoils my "Italian tooth", as she so charmingly put it, and uses an ingredient that I have not had the pleasure of preparing myself - Zucchini Flowers. Haalo makes amazing looking Stuffed Zucchini Flowers with ricotta, Parmigiano-Reggiano and chives. Check her wonderful photos too.

France, EuropeRiana of Garlic Breath (brilliant name) plays a game with her husband. When she sends him grocery shopping she writes down "2 meats and 2 vegetables" on her list. Her husband being so creative comes back home with an interesting array of meats and vegetables. This time it was Cardons. I do admit I had to look that up myself. Check out what she created with them.

The Triangle, North Carolina, USANow if you are looking for a nifty little gadget to make apple sauce go and check Peggy's strainer. It is used to make bags full of Apple Sauce.

Cambridge, Massachusetts, USAWhen Becky slacked back on her studies last week she needed to catch up over the weekend. So, she decided to whip something up with the ingredients she had at home and that would let her carry on studying while it cooked. Well she cooked up a super healthy and delicious Lentils & Rice with Caramelized Onions.

Belgium, EuropePoor VC! I think the worst thing for a cook is to make a dish and nobody to share it with. Something similar has happended to VC, who made this and then it seemd her server crashed. Now, no one can access the page. But please folks, do promise me that you'll check back there a little later this week.

England, EuropeNow I can imagine that there are one or two of you who are probably not too keen on the taste of fennel. However, I would recommend that you go on over to to Betul's blog and check out her delicious looking Fennel Fritters. Together with feta cheese I can only imagine how divine these taste. A must make on my list.

Davis, California, USASher honors her sturdy and determined eggplants with a gorgeous and scrumptious looking Eggplant Gratin With Saffron Cream. See, while she was clearing away her eggplant bushes she forgot two. They thrived all by themselves, surprising Sher how well they looked. Well one thing is for sure that Gratin looks brilliant.

New Jersey, USAThe gorgeous Gattina never seizes to amaze me. She whips up some of the most beautiful looking dishes and I do not have to tell you about the equally beautiful photos she takes. This time she spoils us with a great treat for Christmas. Her Fried cardamom cookies look and sound fantastic.

Somewhere on this EarthOK I have to admit I had a bit of trouble finding more info on our next entry. So, I hope you will excuse me when I missed the information on your blog. However, the most important part in this roundup is of course the dishand the herb. This one is full of wonderful ingredients. From the Yum Yum Mum Mum blog I introduce Minty Masala Vegetables.

Singapore, AsiaLooking for power over the cold and dreary November days. Angie buys a pumpkin and turns it into a 'Powerhouse' Soup. It looks so thick and creamy and perfect for this time of year.

Buffalo, New York, USAMandira bought a few fresh clams with the idea of making a particular recipe. However, when she realized she did not have all the ingredients she made up her own type of fusion food. Boy am I glad she did, because her Pasta with clams is bursting with flavors of rosemary, garlic, coconut milk and many other ingredients.

Toronto, CanadaNow if you are looking for party food I have to tell you, hurry on over to Ruth's. She has got some gorgeous looking Grilled Shrimp with a Spicy Chipotle Dip and as the recipe is from a South Beach Diet cookbook you can indulge without feeling guilty. I have to go on over and check that drooling picture one more time.

New Jersey, USAPickles are a must in Indian food and no meal is complete with some kind of pickle on the table. My friend Shaheen makes a wonderful combination of dates and carrots and serves us a divine Carrot and Date Pickle. What is really great, it is easy to make.

Sydney, AustraliaI enjoyed reading Anna's post about their recent trip to Hunter Valley. My kind of short break as they visited wineries, cheese shops and olive festivals. PARADISE. The best thing Anna came back a changed woman. She found her passion for Gnocchi. For the WHB she dishes up dishes fit for queens. Just go on over and check out Anna's Recipes From Hunter Valley. You'll be mighty sorry if you miss this one.

Bloomington, USAIf you like Turkish food and do not want to waste anytime trying out Fava beans like Burcu did then just have a look at the wonderful Fava Beans à la Turque, with dill, mint and parsley.

Weimar, GermanyAs your hostess this week I decided to take a trip to the Provence region - culinarily speaking that is. Bursting with the aromatic flavors of Herbes de Provence I made a Provencal Fried Fish.

That was Weekend Herb Blogging from Germany this week. I had a great time and hope you all enjoyed your visit here. Now I ask you to pack your herbs and fly down to Mumbai, India where my good friend Nandita of Saffron Trail will be hosting the next session.

Thank you for visiting What's For Lunch, Honey? and taking time to browse through my recipes, listen to my ramblings and enjoy my photographs. I appreciate all your comments, feedback and input. I will answer your questions to my best knowledge and respond to your comments as soon as possible.

In the meantime I hope you enjoy your stay here and that I was able to make this an experience for your senses.

Hello, I am Meeta a freelance food photographer, stylist and writer living in the cuturally rich city of Weimar, Germany with my husband and our son, where I enjoy preparing multi-cultural home cooked meals with fresh organic ingredients. What's for lunch, Honey? is my award winning food blog where I combine my love for food with my love for photography and styling...